Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the official print media organ for the Russian government, has published a decision by the Russian Ministry of Transport last week to make GLONASS or GLONASS+GPS satellite navigation equipment standard for most civil airplanes and helicopters in Russia.
The measure is intended to boost safety and improve air traffic control, the ministry stated. It has a six-year implementation horizon, covering new aircraft of Russian make with airworthiness certificates issued after December 31, 2011, as well as foreign aircraft.
The first deadline comes January 1, 2014 for planes and helicopters that transport hazardous cargos. Commercial aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 495 kg or more are required to have GLONASS or GLONASS+GPS navigators on board by January 1, 2015, followed in precisely one year by general-purpose civil airplanes and choppers with a maximum takeoff weight of 5,700 kg or more.
Aircraft of international make with the same takeoff weight parameters, flown commercially in Russia by both domestic and foreign airlines, are expected to meet their deadlines between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018.
The most recent document is yet another in a series of decrees the Russian transportation regulator has issued over the past four years in pursuance of the 2008 federal legislation that holds all Russian passenger carriers, haulers and shippers liable for using GLONASS or GLONASS+GPS positioning capabilities. Last year, for example, ground transporters were legally mandated to put the navigation equipment on all vehicles conveying passengers, large volumes or hazardous materials.
In a separate move, the Moscow city government has unveiled plans to kit out its public transportation with GLONASS+GPS by the end of this year to help it navigate through the capital’s notorious traffic jams and increase safety.
